001092   Bharathan V;Ahamed F (Management Studies Dep, Manipal University, Dubai) : Empirical study on UAE investor attitude towards investment. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2012, 8(2), 1-9.

Mobilization of savings and leveraging of the investment in a multi-cultural environment like the UAE remains a major policy issue. The present study, utilizing the results of an Attitude Survey, analyses the motivations of investors and their attitude towards participation across a range of investment initiatives and attempts to gain an enhanced understanding of how an individual investor uses information contained in analyst and management forecasts. The study also covers the pattern of Investor Attitude towards alternate investment opportunities, the market cycle, reasons for holding an investment portfolio, evaluative factors and perspectives concerning the attraction of private finance into the investment.

18 ref

001091   Babu M;Srinivasan S (Commerce and Financial Studies Dep, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu) : Testing the weak form efficiency in Indian commodities market. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2012, 8(1), 75-86.

This Paper aims to Test the Weak Form Efficiency in Indian Commodities Market. There are various studies relating to testing the Efficiency of Capital Markets at National and Global Level. An attempt has been made in this Paper to test the Weak Form Efficiency in Multi Commodity Exchange India Ltd, using Runs Test and Johansen Co-Integration Test. A Sample of 8 Commodities based on the total turnover during the study period was selected. The results of the study provide evidence against weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis for majority of the select sample commodities during the study period.

5 tables, 13 ref

001090   Anitha;Maran K (NO, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu) : Effect of liberalization and globalization of foreign direct investment in India. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2012, 8(1), 59-74.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played an important role in the process of globalization during the past two decades. Due to liberalization of policies and globalization, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI )Inflows are on an increasing trend. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been one of the most fascinating and hot topics among researchers in the field of international trade and commerce. It is an important form of fast international expansion to increase ownership of assets, drive location-specific advantages and acquire additional knowledge. FDI in industrial sectors in India has become a point of discussion due to various reasons. Starting from the service sector, information technology, telecommunication sector, manufacturing etc there is a continuous fluctuation in FDI Inflows over the years. Earlier FDI - 9 - targeted for manufacturing industries, automobile industries, transportation industry etc., but since a couple of years Service Sector has been attracting the highest FDI inflows The present study is conducted to compare the FDI Inflows to the country during the Pre and Post Liberalization Period and to analyze the change in pattern of sectoral composition of India with the Global FDI inflows. Further an attempt is made to identify the factors which influence Foreign Direct Investment into the country.

1 illus, 4 tables, 14 ref

001089   Anandaraj P;Chinniah V (Management Studies Dep, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Email: ok_anandaraj@yahoo.co.in) : Study on capital productivity analysis of mango cultivation with special reference to Madurai District. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2012, 8(1), 48-58.

Capital Productivity in growing mango orchard is analysed in different ways compared to annual crops. The present study has been designed to investigate cost of production and returns per acre over the life time of mango trees. A sample of 300 mango growing armers was taken from various villages of Madurai District of Tamil Nadu.The objective was to work out Pay Back Period, Benefit Cost Ratio and Net Present Worth of growing mango orchard. The Pay Back Period was computed on the basis of Undiscounted Cumulative Value for the investment made in mango cultivation over a period of 3.54 years, indicating that the growers can recover the initial investment made in mango orchard in 3.54 years. The cut off year at 15 per cent cost of capital is 6.67 years and the calculated Pay Back Period is less than that of the cut off year. Hence it may be calculated that the investment in mango cultivation is a viable one. Net Present Worth, at Rs. 32238.62 per acre, was estimated for the sampled respondents. This indicates that mango cultivation fetches higher returns whereas Benefit Cost Ratio was reasonably high at 1.45, implying that investing one rupee in mango cultivation would return Rs. 1.45. These results indicate that investing in mango orchard would bring huge returns to the farmers on one hand and for the country in the form of foreign earnings on the other hand.

4 tables, 23 ref

024273   Singh M (NO, JCD Institute of Business Management, Sirsa, Haryana, Email: manisha.gju@gmail.com) : Socio-economic status of women entrepreneurs in small scale industries. Arya Bhatta J Math Inf 2014, 6(1), 125-34.

Women Entrepreneurs may be defined as the women or a group of women who initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise. Government - 4 - of India has defined women entrepreneurs as an enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least, 51% of employment generated in the enterprise to women. Economically, women have been making progress, but still men enjoy a larger share of their cake. In India, although women constitute approximately, 50% of the total population, entrepreneurial world is still a male dominated one. Women entrepreneur in India have to cope with various socio-economic problems. Societal attitude and supports are major determinants of women entrepreneurial success. The social and cultural role played by women may place additional burden on them. Women entrepreneur face difficulties in getting finance which is a critical resource for venture creation. Small Scale Industries (SSI) plays a key role in the industrialization of the country. The nature and characters of SSI is suitable to women to become entrepreneurs. In this article an attempt has been made to view the participation of women entrepreneurs in Small Scale Industries and to understand the socio-economic status of women entrepreneurs with special reference to women entrepreneurs in Sirsa region.

11 illus, 11 tables, 10 ref

024272   Pattnayak S S;Chadha A (NO, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, NIT Campus (Post), Thanjavore Main Road, Thuvakudi, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu) : Technical efficiency of Indian pharmaceutical firms: a stochastic frontier function approach. Productivity 2013, 54(1), 54-62.

This article examines the technical efficiency of the Indian pharmaceutical industry in the light of policy changes in the international and domestic environment since 1995. We find that for the industry as a whole, there is evidence of time-varying technical efficiency for the sample firms. The main hypothesis that the setting up of the WTO and the deregulation of the pharmaceutical industry in India has improved the efficiency of the industry is supported by the results of the study. The favourable impact of the WTO and liberalization of the industry on output is evident from the positive and significant sign of the WTO dummy. Moreover, the results on technical efficiency show that patenting firms are close to the frontier and utilize the factors inputs efficiently. Thus, the new WTO regime of stricter patent rights has provided a stimulus to patenting firms to undertake greater R&D activities in order to effectively compete with pharmaceutical MNCs (Jha, 2007) and are also collaborating with research laboratories (FICCI, 2005). It is likely that the stronger patent laws may stimulate even the non-patenting firms to become more research-oriented and efficient in the long run.

5 tables, 32 ref

024271   Panda S;Sahoo C K (NO, School of Management, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha) : Workforce planning and talent acquisition: an exploration. Productivity 2013, 54(1), 77-84.

To perform better and to compete in highly dynamic environment, organizations these days have started focussing on acquiring the best talent. An effective workforce planning can help to focus on the dire needs of talent which will lead towards organizational success. Once those needs are known they can then be streamlined in order to fit into an effective talent acquisition strategy. This paper seeks to clarify the concepts of workforce planning and talent acquisition through a conceptual framework which shows the overall impact of talent acquisition strategies on attraction of talent. It helps in knowing the strategies which will lead to enhancement of organizational attractiveness and thus acquire the required talent.

1 illus, 38 ref

024270   Kaul V K;Aggarwal A;Bhavneet Kaur (Business Economics Dep, South Campus, Delhi Univ, Delhi) : GM crop adoption and marketing in India- an empirical survey. Productivity 2013, 54(1), 26-38.

GM cotton has been cultivated across various countries of the world. Being a - 3 - technology innovation, it involved a tremendous effort on the part of marketers/technology promotes to get it adopted by the targeted customers. The study is based on primary survey conducted in northern India. Personal factors which came out to be significantly related to adoption wereage and economic status of the farmer. The study also pinpoints toward the significance of word-of-mouth communication which comes out as the most effective way for spreading awareness and initiating trial. Private seed shops turned out to be the significant sources for seed procurement.

12 tables, 22 ref

024269   Chhikara K S;Kodan A S (Commerce Dep, MD Univ, Rohtak) : Micro, small and medium enterprises in India: trends, composition, issues and challenges. Productivity 2013, 54(1), 63-76.

In this article authors analyzed the trends, composition, regional pattern, issues, and challenges of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India with the help of appropriate statistical tools and techniques. The study clearly indicates that the Indian MSMEs are facing many challenges, such as technological gap, finance, marketing, government support, lack of infrastructure. On the basis of foregoing analysis we have made some viable suggestions for removal of problems faced by the enterprises are made to make them self-sufficient and effective for the development of the nation.

9 illus, 3 tables, 19 ref

023232   Maria Evelyn Jucunda M;Sophia S (VIT Business School, VIT (Chennai Campus) Univ, Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road, Chennai-600 127, Email: maria.evelyn2012@vit.ac) : Do acquisitions add value to acquires in India? a study on the sensitivity of the stock market abd acquirer returns. Indian J Finance 2014, 8(5), 5-18.

"Do acquisitions create value for the acquiring firm's shareholders?" This is an unresolved question in the literature of acquisitions. This study analyzes the value creation of acquirers in India on an acquisition announcement and the sensitivity of the stock markets during an acquisition announcement. Most of the literature in the West concludes that, on an acquisition announcement, only the targets create value, and the acquirers are value destructive. This study uses a sample of 78 acquirers in the manufacturing industry who acquired targets in the calendar year 2012. The study develops four hypotheses and uses the event study methodology (market model/ ordinary least square model). The results of the study suggest that acquisitions are neither value creative to Indian acquirers and those acquirers with prior acquisition experience create more value than single acquirers. Surprisingly, the results show that acquirers using cash generate negative returns, which may be due to the presence of the hubris effect. Another important finding of the study is that the acquirers using stock as a method of payment are no longer value destructive, which is contrary to the literature which states that acquirers using cash are value creative and acquirers using stock are value destructive. This is an important contribution to the existing literature of the method of payment, and it implies that the theories in the West may not necessarily hold well in India, and they need to be reassessed before being implemented in the Indian context.

11 table, 15 ref

023231   Malhotra R (NO, Auro Univ, Earthspace, Hazira Road, Opp. ONGC, Surat-394 510, Email: rohit.malhotra@aurouniversity.edu.in) : Analysis of pure weather portfolios using parametric, non-parametric, and conditional VaR in relation to bank's risk capital. Indian J Finance 2014, 8(5), 19-26.

Weather data plays an imperative role in deciding the future prices of commodities and utilities, mainly energy prices. The studies measuring portfolio performances using financial data have mainly dominated the financial literature. The present paper is a different attempt to estimate the portfolio risks (portfolio VaR) for three of the city-wise, that is, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai monthly temperature data. Besides this, the portfolio risk capital was measured using point backtest method, thereby using traffic signal violations approach. To generate valuable results, it was important to use not just the historical values, but also randomly generated values for 191 monthly temperature figures. Along with this, conditional VaR accepting the maximum possible losses was also accommodated in the study. The use of GARCH1,1 model was attempted, which appears to be able to cover volatility clustering easily. The pure temperature portfolio risks and portfolio risk capital are accounted at different confidence intervals and this is the only scenario utilized for the analysis. With this extensive back-end analysis, the spreadsheet was utilized. This present paper is limited to the usage of temperature data of three cities (Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai). For future research purposes, a greater number of cities and more weather parameters can be utilized. The banking sector, particularly financing to agricultural based projects, can - 3 - make much use of such studies not only to safeguard itself against their investment portfolio, but can also use the findings from the present study (if permitted) to manage their capital adequacy requirements for mark-to-market trading portfolios. The results revealed the inter-city comparison of portfolio and individual VaR based risk capital estimations and also provide a model for researchers and practitioners to implement for further use.

2 tables, 7 ref

023230   Chawla S;Sharma P (Business Management Dep, D.A.V. Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, Email: mimitrohit@gmail.com) : Macroeconomic approach to foreign investment flows in India. Indian J Finance 2014, 8(5), 42-9.

The Indian economy, a developing economy and an attractive destination for foreign investment, has witnessed many ups and downs in its growth since its liberalization in 1991. Foreign investment in India has increased continuously since 1980-91 to 2010-11. Studies have shown that the major investment of FDI in India has been in the services sector. The movement of FDI and Flls in India is affected by many macroeconomic variables like inflation, GDP, money supply, IIP, WPI, exchange rate, balance of trade, and so forth. The present paper conducts a review of studies in this area so as to establish a relation between macroeconomic variables and the inflow of foreign investment in India.

3 illus, 1 table, 22 ref

023229   Ahamed N (NO, , IBS Hyderabad, Survey No. 156/157, Donatnpally Village, Via: Kanaka Mamidi, Shankerpally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District-50, Email: naseemahamed@ibsindia.org) : Does the status of governance practices differentiate countries in the forex market?. Indian J Finance 2014, 8(5), 27-41.

Liberalization of the Indian economy (in 1991) and many other economies contemporarily made the survival of isolated economies out of question. With the opening up of economic barriers, better governance practices flowed from good governed to relatively badly governed countries. Now, with increased industrialization and opening up of economies for trade and commerce, political boundaries of nations have been transgressed by businesses. However, this opportunity of making money abroad may also bring some inconvenience to the parent company as it might suffer losses or receive eroded profits when the foreign currency is converted to the local currency at prevailing rates (Pandey, 2010). There may be several other examples like this in real and hypothetical scenarios, and these need to be addressed with prudence. This topic does the - 2 - same as it calls for attention towards these risks and precautions/remedies available for the same. Apart from the MNCs, there are people who enter into the currency markets for speculative gains. These traders do not require these foreign currencies, but they buy/sell them for making profits from the existing market situations. The proportion of these traders is much larger than those who need foreign currency to make payments, give wages, and so forth. The present paper intends to provide an econometric model for the traders in the currency market which could, up to a reasonable extent, anticipate the fluctuations in major globally transacted currency pairs. This would be handy for the traders and for large businesses running overseas (which have to deal in different currency regions) as they can accordingly decide whether to invest in a particular currency or not.

16 tables, 21 ref

022209   Trivedi S;Sheth B (Economics Dep, Amity Business School, Amity Univ, Sector 125, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Email: drshalinidixit@gmail.com) : Higher grades, better performance: debunking myths associated with IPOs. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(5), 24-31.

May 1,2007 marked the day when a distinctive mandatory system prevalent nowhere in the world was introduced by India's market regulator SEBI -mandatory initial public offering (IPO) grading. It was for the first time in the history of securities market regulator that a company planning to get listed needed to get a grading of its issue. The rationale behind the mandatory grading was that the retail investors who are usually at a disadvantage of having inadequate information about the issue would get an indication about the fundamentals of the company. The belief that "Higher Grades lead to better IPO performance both in the pre and post listing period" has been proved to be a myth over and over again. Lately, there has been a debate over the significance and relevance of IPO Grading. Out of the total 56 public issues that were launched and listed on the NSE during the one year period from January - December 2010, 42 issues traded at a loss after one year of listing as compared to their issue price. This paper analyses the myths surrounding the IPO Grades and their performance.

3 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

022208   Sund R (NO, National Productivity Council, New Delhi) : Contributions of capital deeping (IT and non IT) and total factor productivity in labor productivity growth: major Asian countries. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 442-3.

Information Technology (IT) capital has emerged as a significant contributor to Labor Productivity in the recent decades. Tracking the size and growth of IT capital, that is, computers and copying machines, communication equipment, computer software, etc., has become a standard practice in productivity research, following attempts to establish the driving force behind productivity resurgence in developed economies, starting with the US in the 1990s. Unlike technological advancements in the past, which were largely confined to manufacturing, Information Technology can permeate the economy and bring about significant production gains, for example, wholesale and retail, banking and finance, and transportation and telecommunications (that is, service sectors that traditionally have struggled with slow productivity growth). This database report presents Labor Productivity Growth, Capital Deepening Growth both in terms of IT and Non IT Capital and Total Factor Productivity Growth across 10 major Asian economies during the last two decades compiled from APO productivity Datebook 2012 & 2013.

10 tables, ref

022207   Singh S (NO, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Cementing Services, Ahmedabad Asset, Ahmedabad-380 005, Email: satinder_singh62@rediffmail.com) : Empirical study on the status of work-life balance in oil and natural gas corporation limited (ONGC). Prabandhan: Indian J Mgmt 2014, 7(1), 27-36.

Discussion on work-life balance is presently much in demand and both employers and employees are giving it the much needed importance. Much of the growing amount of research into work-life balance reflects the widespread interest in the topic. This study explores the status of work-life balance in Oil and Natural Gas - 16 - Corporation Limited (ONGC). In order to gain different perspectives on work-life balance in ONGC, the research design comprises of interviews with employees of ONGC, Ahmedabad Asset covering each level of employees - from staff to senior managerial level employees working with various departments with varying work schedules and covering both the genders - male and female employees. The key findings of the research are that the employees of ONGC had obtained a good work-life balance by making mutual adjustments. However, there is a need to develop work-life balance policies customized to individual needs with effective supportive system to reduce work-life conflicts.

3 illus, 12 tables, 29 ref

022206   Singh R;Vijaivargiya A;Upadhyay V (NO, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi) : Economic analysis of Indian IT sector. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 357-69.

IT industry has grown at nearly 50% and has emerged a major export earner. Performance of the sector is analysed using balance sheets and P&L statements of past 10 years of 5 major companies covering 80% of market share, using method of ratio analysis. Using the Significant-level testing in time domains 2003-08 and 2009-12, effect of the financial crisis 2008 on IT sector has been analysed. The pace of growth of the sector is faster compared to other sectors. Though few firms have performed well but overall profitability of the sector is affected due to financial crisis and increased competition.

18 illus, 2 tables, 2 ref

022205   Selvaraj V;Rajangam P (Commerce and Research Centre Dep, Nehru Memorial College, Puthanampatti-621 007, Email: selva_velva@yahoo.co.in) : Analysis of profitability of Seshasayee paper & boards limited (SPBL): a case study. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(6), 31-44.

This paper aims to access the profitability position of SPBL from the year 2001-02 to 2010-11. To evaluate the profitability of the company, relevant ratios were used and statistical tools like mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, minimum, and maximum were applied, and to test the significant relationship between the relevant variables, the variables were tested with the help of correlation and regression analysis (t- test). In hypotheses testing, most of the hypothesis showed a statistically significant relationship between two variables. Hence, it was concluded that the overall performance of Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited regarding profitability was sound during the study period, the company's market is growing, and it was earning an acceptable return on invested capital, and it has good future opportunities for growth.

7 illus, 11 tables, 16 ref

022204   Savitha R;Deepika S R (NO, GRG School of Management Studies, Peelamedu, Coimbatore-641 004, Email: savitha@grgsms.com) : Empirical study on the behaviour of nifty index by examining the derivative contract. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(6), 5-15.

Term "Derivative" indicates that it has no independent value, i.e. its value is entirely "derived" from the value of the underlying asset. The basic purpose of it is to transfer the price risk from one party to another, and mitigate the risk arising from the future uncertainty of prices. It is generally used as an instrument to hedge risk, but can also be used for speculative purpose. Prices in an organized derivatives market reflect the perception of the market participants about the future and lead the prices of the underlying to the perceived future level. This research is an attempt to find the efficiency of the sentimental indicators of financial derivatives in predicting the trend of the market (behaviour of NIFTY index). Participants in the stock markets believe that the amount of open interest (OI) in a particular contract has a bearing on the behavior of the price of the contract. This perception is put to test in the present research using the end of the day data (historical data) from - 15 - August 2011 to February 2012, and examined the correlation between the cumulative percentage changes in open interest and cumulative percent change in the price of future contract of NIFTY index. The put-call ratio (PCR) is widely used by technical analysts as an indicator of the investor sentiment concerning future equity price trends. Many stock market experts cite the put-call ratio as an important indicator of investor sentiment, with a low (high) value indicating excessive optimism (pessimism). It is believed that the ratio is a useful contrarian indicator for future stock market behavior. In the present research paper, the value of the put-call ratio as an indicator of future stock market trend is put to test. The research is further extended towards application and analysis of the stock and option strategies in different market conditions and their pay-off using end of the day (EOD) data.

1 illus, 6 tables, 20 ref

022203   Sarkar A N (NO, Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi) : Eco-industrial clusters: pathways for evolving new business models for eco-innovation and green growth. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 421-41.

Industrial Clusters development has so far been very successful experience in transforming the economy of many countries and spread of multi-national companies (MNCs) in several parts of the world. Unlike Industrial-clusters per se Eco-lndustrial Clusters (EICs), are defined as: "A community of business; geographic concentration of interconnected companies in a specialized field that cooperate with each other and with the local community to efficiently share resources (information, materials, energy, water, infrastructure, finance, etc), leading to improved environmental quality, economic gains, and equitable enhancement of human resources for both the business and local community." Essentially, an Eco-lndustrial Cluster (EIC) aims at efficient use loca/renewable/recyclable resources while achieving economic development targets and meeting the social demands of the local community. The potential benefits expected from eco-industrial cluster development are multiple, viz. zero emission, employment generation, new product development, branding, eco-labelling and green growth. Paper attempts to put together and highlight some of the recent innovative planning, use of eco-designing approaches and achievement in developing the concept as well as project-based applications of eco-industrial clusters, with focus on eco-innovation, sustainable development and green growth by developing innovative and replicable business models for local and regional development. The paper also highlights the evolution of various types of Eco-clusters, criteria for selection of clusters; and some of the successful eco-industrial cluster-based business models in many parts of the world, including in India, and the learning thereof for future improvement. Impact analysis and business potential of Eco-industrial clusters are also discussed briefly in the paper.

2 illus, 4 tables, 42 ref

022202   Sandeep Kumar;Taneja N K (NO, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi) : Firm level performance of Indian services sector: a Malamquist approach. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 386-95.

The services sector covers a wide range of activities from the most sophisticated information technology (IT) to simple services provided by the unorganized sector, such as the services of the barber and plumber. By using the non-parametric technique of DEA-type Malmquist index in this study. Authors measure the productivity changes for the Indian service sector from 1991-92 to 2010-11. This model helped us to isolate the contributions of technological change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity change in the industries. Thus, results for Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) synthesis that Total factor Productivity Change (TFPCH) in aggregate for all the service sectors for nine sub-sectors have shown a productivity growth over the period and two sub period (1991-2000 and 2001-2011) of study. The foremost contributing factor as per decomposition is found out to be the - 14 - technology innovations effect rather than technical efficiency change/catching up effect.

1 illus, 5 tables, 16 ref

022201   Saji T G;Harikumar S;Mohammed Kasim C (Commerce and Management Studies Dep, Sri C. Acutha Menon Government College, Thrissur, Kerala-680 014, Email: sajthazhungal@gmail.com) : Global financial crisis and performance of the Indian corporate sector: a firm level analysis. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(5), 14-23.

The U.S. financial crisis has made its upshots on both developed and developing economies of the world. However, India did not face a full - blown recession, but only experienced an economic deceleration, which is normally considered as a temporary phenomenon. Analysis of the financial parameters of corporate India revealed intersectoral as well as intrasectoral differences among them in respect of their financial fundamentals during the period of crisis, which could be attributed to many factors. The Banking sector found an opportunity for growth during the period of crisis, the credit of which goes to wise and judicious policies of the central bank of the country. The Automobile and construction sector were hit most adversely by the crisis due to their high capital intensive nature and stringent measures taken by the lending institutions by cutting back of credit to individuals for adding luxuries to their personal lives. Our IT industry is more exposed to the U.S. and European markets; hence, the financial crisis in these advanced economies affected the export earnings of this sector. However, sharp depreciation of the Rupee helped them to compensate in aggregate what they lost due to the crisis in the global market. Domestic market orientation and not being very capital-intensive are among the factors that insulated the FMCG sector from the downturn. The degree of shock exerted by the global financial turmoil on the performance of the Indian corporate sector was also not the same. While some companies under a particular sector were severely hit by the crisis, fundamentally strong companies could unshackle themselves from it.

7 tables, 16 ref

022200   Saji T G;Harikumar S (Post Graduate Commerce and Management Studies Dep, Government College, Thrissur, Kerala) : Assessing profit potential of Indian information technology industry: an application of Michael Porter model. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 350-8.

Article takes an attempt to assess the profit potential of Indian IT industry under Porter's five forces analysis framework by observing its performance during the post 2000 period. Despite the terrific growth in the revenue position of Indian IT sector, the profit margins of its member firms have shrunk significantly during the period. - 13 - Increasing rate of attrition cost and huge amount of research and development expenditure almost cancel out the effect of its revenue growth on profit margins. High degree of exposure to the external markets, the economic crisis in the developed world, especially in the US and Europe and the fluctuations in currency market are the factors among others, crucial to decide the future of Information Technology in India and abroad.

7 tables, 8 ref

022199   Rajathural (NO, , Bentley Systems) : Asset information management for planning & disaster management. Wat Energy int 2013, 70(7), 25-7.

4 illus, ref

022198   Prasad S S;Verma A (NO, Prestige Institute of Management & Research, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Email: chetnasinha.prasad@gmail.com) : Size and returns: a study of the Indian stock market. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(5), 5-13.

Size effect is one of the prominent anomalies which have been observed in the stock markets around the world. The present study attempts to find out if the portfolio of small stocks yields higher returns vis-a-vis the portfolio of large stocks and whether the size effect is present in the Indian stock market or not. The sample consists of the monthly returns of the stocks included in the S&P CNX 500 index from April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2010. Equal weighted portfolios of thirty smallest and largest stocks were constructed for each year for the entire period of the study based on the criteria of total assets and market capitalization. Using correlation analysis, CNX Nifty Junior was finalized as the market proxy, and the market model was applied by using the variables of excess returns on the portfolio of the stocks and the returns on the market proxy. The results indicate that the returns on the portfolio of small stocks are not significantly different from the returns on the portfolio of large stocks. Therefore, based on the results, the study concludes that the size effect is not present in the Indian stock market.

7 tables, 36 ref

022197   Parikh A;Baruah M (NO, V.M. Patel Institute of Management, Ganpat, Vidyanagar, Kherva, Mehsana-382 711, Email: abhishek.parikh@ganpatuniversity.ac.in) : Exploring overreaction hypothesis for large cap stocks in the Indian stock market: an empirical evidence of superior returns in nifty 50. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(5), 32-40.

Stock market usually overreacts to various global, economic, industry or company-specific news. This overreaction leads to the generation of - 12 - excess returns through momentum for a short period, and contrarian for a longer period. In this regard, most of the previous studies focused on creation of excess returns through momentum and contrarian strategies. The present study aims to explore the overreaction hypothesis with a special focus on large-cap stocks of Nifty 50 stocks from the Indian equity market. The present study also tries to confirm whether the behavioral justification of overreaction occurs due to the traders' activity in the short run, and in the long run, whether the reversal of momentum (De Bondt & Thaler, 1985,1987; Jagadeesh & Titman, 1993,2001) is true or not for the large cap stocks. At the same time, it tries to identify if such profits were created, then was it only signaling any evidence of presence of risk-return trade off, or was it a real case of superior returns? The study tries to find out the reversal point as results of Nifty 50 stock returns were showing momentum followed by contrarian. For this purpose, monthly return data of Nifty 50 stocks for the period from January 2004 to December 2010 had been collected. Analysis was done with the help of ANOVA and inferences were drawn.

1 illus, 3 tables, 23 ref

022196   Nageswara Rao R;Vani H;Meesala A (Business Management Dep, Osmania Univ, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: nagsuj123@gmail.com) : Impact of best HR practices and employee engagement on career success: a discriminant analysis. Prabandhan: Indian J Mgmt 2014, 7(1), 5-14.

Best HR practices and employee engagement are the most popular mantras for high organizational performance, which are believed to first raise the morale and energy level of the employee, and later are to be followed by the spirited discretionary employee effort. In fact, engagement is a part of best HR practices, which is an umbrella concept. However, the intriguing question is: Do all these practices aimed at improving organizational performance make for individual employee's career success, which is the most powerful driving force behind an employee's performance? This research is an attempt to fathom out which factors contribute most to career success of an employee: Best HR practices or employee engagement or performance? A survey was done on 206 employees working in different organizations in Andhra Pradesh, and a discriminant analysis (DA) was conducted to find out which factors contributed most to the career success of the employees. Original Contribution: This research establishes a link between career success, engagement efforts, and best HR practices. Findings: The results show that engagement contributes most to career success followed by best HR practices. Job performance has a doubtful role in determining career success. Organizations engaged in vigorous implementation of best HR practices would realize from this research that engagement efforts are better than best HR practices from the standpoint of an employee's career success. Engagement efforts, which are employee-centered, are the best bet than best HR practices, which are firm-centered.

9 tables, 43 ref

022195   Makkar A;Singh S (NO, Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar Science & Technology Univ, Hisar, Haryana, Email: anita29561@gmail.com) : Analysis of the financial performance of Indian commercial banks: a comparative study. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(5), 41-9.

Financial performance of a bank indicates the strength and weakness of that particular bank by properly establishing the association between the items of the - 11 - balance sheet and profit & loss account. The present study is a comparative analysis of the financial performance of Indian commercial banks. The study considered a sample of 37 banks (22 public sector banks and 15 private sector banks) for the period from 2006-07 to 2010-11. CAMELS rating methodology was used in the study to measure the performance of the considered banks. The study found that the IDBI Bank was the best performing bank followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank. Dhanalaxmi Bank had the worst performance followed by J & K Bank and Karnataka Bank Ltd. The results of the 't' - test disclosed that there is a significant difference in the Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality and Earning Capacity of public and private sector banks in India, while there is no significant difference in the Management, Liquidity Position and Sensitivity to market risk of the two different banks groups. The study concluded that on an average, there is no statistically significant difference in the financial performance of the public and private sector banks in India, but still, there is a need for overall improvement in the public sector banks to make their position strong in the competitive market.

5 tables, 20 ref

022194   Lazarus D;Krishna A;Dhaka S (NO, TAMPI School of Business, Manipal Univ, Jaipur, Email: davis.lazarus@jaipur.manipal.edu) : Co-creation capability spectrum for classification and scaling of processing services. Prabandhan: Indian J Mgmt 2014, 7(1), 37-44.

Co - creation capabilities can be used as a strategic business logic that portrays in creating superior relations between consumers and firms as a source of competitive advantage for organizations. Capabilities could be used for enhancing value co-creation for mutual and long-term betterment. The authors developed a conceptual matrix of willingness and unwillingness in terms of co-creation using in depth literature review. Conceptualizing capabilities provide a foundation of bridging a co-creation continuum with various capabilities and processing services to attain the level or extent of consumer interaction. This article also sets out an agenda for future research.

4 illus, 1 table, 15 ref

022193   Kaushal M (P.G. Commerce Dep, Kamla Lohtia S.D. College, Ludhiana-141 008, Email: monalisaubs@gmail.com) : Analysis of earnings management in India: an empirical study. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(6), 45-59.

Using a sample of 1,035 company year observations for the years 2006 to 2010, an effort has been made in the present study to assess the magnitude of earnings management through accruals estimation. The study investigates the overall breadth and scope of earnings management behavior in a broader context through a comprehensive analysis of reported earnings across Indian industry sectors and individual company characteristics. The results affirmed that earnings management as depicted by discretionary accrual exists in the Indian companies. The results provide some evidence to the fact that earnings management has an unfavourable effect on the value of the company.

5 tables, 43 ref

022192   Joseph K J (NO, , ) : India's software industry in transition: lessons for other developing countries and implications for South-South cooperation. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 329-41.

India's success in software industry has attracted world wide attention on account of its remarkable performance in the export of software services. The emergence of ICT as the General Purpose Technology (GPT) of the new millennium is instrumental in enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and growth in all sectors of the economy. Almost all - 10 - developing countries have undertaken policy measures and institutional interventions to develop ICT capabilities and harness the new technology as a short cut to prosperity. Though India's record is remarkable in exports of software, its record in harnessing IT and software for building efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of other sectors of the economy has been less remarkable. This has been reflected not only in the sluggish growth of India's manufacturing sector but also in the international competitiveness. However, off late there has been a significant change in the internal and external environment in which the industry operates. In this article an attempt has been made to explore whether there has been a greater domestic market orientation and the role of state policies therein. The study suggests that the industry is increasingly getting oriented towards domestic market. It is also argued that there is a shift in the nature of domestic market from services to high value added and skill intensive software products and engineering research and design.

4 tables, 47 ref

022191   Eapen M;Annamalai S (NO, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME), Hosur Road, Electronic City Phase II, Bangalore-560 100, Email: maryeapen@yahoo.co.in) : Study on job satisfaction among employees in an automobile sales and service companmy. Prabandhan: Indian J Mgmt 2014, 7(1), 15-26.

An organization being in the service industry has to maintain a large pool of staff both at the front end as well as at the back end operations. Hence, it becomes critical to enhance employee job satisfaction levels to increase productivity and thereby, sales. The present study focuses on the job satisfaction levels and the major factors that contribute to job satisfaction. It sheds some light on how job satisfaction varies with age, gender, department, tenure, and job role of the employee. It also aimed to capture the employees' suggestions on improvement areas that would, in turn, help to achieve higher job satisfaction levels in the future. The results showed that 89% of the employees were either satisfied or were very satisfied with their current job. The major factors that contributed to job satisfaction were working relationship with supervisor, pay, benefits and development, work environment, leadership and support, prioritized values, security, and clarity of communication. Hypotheses testing showed no strong relationship between job satisfaction and age, gender, department, work tenure, or job role of the respondents.

1 illus, 11 tables, 23 ref

022190   Durga Prasada Rao V;Gopala Raju C;Raju C V S R K (Mech. Engg. Dep, SRKR. Engg. College, Bhimavaram) : Time study and inventory management of a bearing manufacturing line. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 378-85.

In the present study, Time study is used to record the times and rates of working for the elements of the bearing manufacturing unit and thereby establishes the standard time of every machining operation or process. These standard times are used to calculate the standard productions of the corresponding machines which are then compared with the company's target or desired quantities. This automatically gives the raw inventories to be maintained at all the machining processes. The maintenance of inventories at each machine at required levels ensures continuity in the manufacturing process (Starr and Miller, 1986). Also by implementing certain possible changes in the sequence of operations and by making the calculations in a more scientific way, the present study helps in increasing the productivity of the manufacturing unit.

1 illus, 14 tables, 3 ref

022189   Dawn S K (NO, Centre for Management Studies, JIS College of Engineering, West Bengal) : Personalised marketing: concepts and framework. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 370-7.

In a dynamic and competitive market, marketers are going towards the personalised marketing to serve better to its customers than their competitors. Personalisation is the use of technology and customer information to tailor a particular product to the specific needs of an individual customer. After the globalization of the Indian economy and also with the rapid development of information technology, the new Indian economy with characteristics of the Internet and e-commerce has become more vibrant, and brought huge impact on enterprise operation and management mode. At the same time, along with the rapid development of society and economy, personalized need for product is more and more obvious. Due to the enormous competition in the market, it is imperative for an organization to develop personalized marketing to enhance the competitive advantage. This article makes an analysis of how enterprises develop customized marketing strategies - 9 - in the commercial environment. In this paper, we have also discussed about the concept of personalized marketing and make an attempt to develop a model to show how Information Technology (IT) helps to develop a personalised marketing to provide better service to the customers.

2 illus, 29 ref

022188   Boora D;Pawan Kumar;Jhajharia S R S (NO, Vivekanand P.G. College Bhadra, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, Email: Rittumalik62@gmail.com) : Role of banking in rural area. Int J latest Technol Engng Mgmt appl Sci 2014, 3(1A), 70-6.

Rural banking is banking that is done in an area that is not close to towns or cities, making it difficult for those who need to conduct banking business. Many times a bank's agent will come to the rural area to offer basic banking services. Rural banking is not as prevalent in the U.S. as it is in rural areas of India, Africa and some other countries. The goals of Rural Banks are to provide banking services to the rural/village population of India. Gramya banks or Grameen banks are banks in India that provide banking services for the rural population in India. There are a total of 32 Grameen banks.

12 ref

022187   Boora D;Pawan Kumar;Jhajharia S R S (NO, Vivekanand P.G. College Bhadra, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, Email: Rittumalik62@gmail.com) : Corporate finance. Int J latest Technol Engng Mgmt appl Sci 2014, 3(1A), 59-64.

Every decision made in a business has financial implications, and any decision that involves the use of money is a corporate financial decision. Defined broadly, everything that a business does fits under the rubric of corporate finance. It is, in fact, unfortunate that we even call the subject corporate finance, because it suggests to many observers a focus on how large corporations make financial decisions and seems to exclude small and private businesses from its purview. A more appropriate title for this discipline would be Business Finance, because the basic principles remain the same, whether one looks at large, publicly traded firms or small, privately run businesses. All businesses have to invest their resources wisely, find the right kind and mix of financing to fund these investments, and return cash to the owners if there are not enough good investments.

8 ref

022186   Boora D;Pawan Kumar;Jhajharia S R S (NO, Vivekanand P.G. College Bhadra, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, Email: Rittumalik62@gmail.com) : Role of rural area in development of banking sector for future scenario. Int J latest Technol Engng Mgmt appl Sci 2014, 3(1A), 49-52.

One role of banks in rural development is to provide financing for the area to be developed. The banks will also provide financing for consumers looking to purchase homes in the - 8 - area. Banks also have options for consumers to open savings and checking accounts, as well as other loan products. Rural development is mandatory for a country. First step towards is to inculcate the habit of investing & saving they should create awareness that why savings is important.

16 ref

022185   Banerjee A (NO, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) : Poor management research in the India: time for collective responsibility. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 396-401.

Paper points to some historic reasons for poor productivity in research including, a) unproductive competition among institutions due to a false sense, of self sufficiency, b) lack of adequate infrastructure at the individual institution level together with the, c) long standing thinking in India that has considered teaching to be the core activity in our University system. It emphasizes the need for collaborative action across institutions that by themselves do not have the wherewithal to upgrade the quality of research. It also stresses the need to build specialized competence in individual faculty members to strive for excellence in a core academic activity, be it research, teaching or executive training and administration. The traditional view of a faculty being a superior performer in all aspects of academics may not yield the results needed to attain global standards of excellence. Like teaching, research requires a separate and detailed agenda in the Higher Education Policy.

6 ref

022184   Bammi R (NO, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Po Box 357, Nehru Nagar, Bhopal-462 003, Email: ruchikabammi@gmail.com) : Empirical analysis of environmental and financial performance of BSE 100 companies. Indian J Finance 2013, 7(6), 16-30.

India is one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world; the large-scale growth of Indian industries resulted in placing India as the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter in 2011, behind only China and USA. Thus, with India's this growth came the international pressure to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions. Indian companies are taking a cue from global competition and are demonstrating an increased awareness and understanding with regards to the risks and opportunities climate change presents to their businesses. The present study examines the differences in the financial and market performance of BSE 100 companies with a difference in the emission levels. The study uses greenhouse gas emissions' data in capturing the effect of environmental performance and constructs two industry balanced portfolios of low and high emission levels. The environmental performance is measured in terms of emission intensity, and the financial performance is measured in terms of PBDITA and ROCE, while market performance is measured as average market return.

9 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

022183   Anita Kumari (NO, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi Univ, North Campus, Delhi) : Technology upgradation: boon or bane for MSMEs in India. Productivity 2014, 54(4), 402-14.

To nurture MSMEs, several policy measures have been taken by the government. The study attempted to answer a pertinent question whether policy measures towards upgradation of technology through acquisition of advanced technology has been boon or bane for MSMEs in India since globalization. A detailed empirical analysis has been carried out for all the industry groups of MSMEs in an attempt to do so. An econometric model has been formulated based on the various hypothesis discussed in the literature and to account for the changing environment as per the changes in the policies for MSMES. The - 7 - analysis revealed that the technology upgradation through acquisition of advanced technologies has been boon for MSMEs in India. Nevertheless, various other factors have also been playing a strategic role along with in augmenting productivity and competitiveness of enterprises in MSMEs across all industry groups.

5 illus, 3 tables, 48 ref

021169   Vohra V (School of Business Management, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), V.L.Mehta Road, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Email: veenavohra71@gmail.com) : Workforce challenges in the Indian construction industry. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 53-63.

India's construction industry faces high demand for quality infrastructure construction from the housing, transportation and development segments. Despite employing a large workforce, the Indian Construction Industry does not have effective human resource practices in place to leverage the potential of the workforce. High attrition levels among experienced employees and perpetual low supply of trained manpower at most levels, afflict companies in this sector. This paper attempts to capture the existing challenges associated with managing the workforce in the Indian Construction Sector. An exploratory approach was adopted to collect data at two levels-first, to ascertain and identify the workforce practices being followed by Indian construction companies and second, to identify the workforce-associated challenges being faced by the human resource professionals in this sector.

33 ref

021168   Saravanan V;Chandran J (Research and Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu) : Under pricing of Indian IPOs and it determinants: an empirical analysis. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 77-87.

This paper explores the initial return and the determinants of under pricing of 127 IPO companies during the period 2008-2012, listed in NSE India. The market adjusted abnormal returns (Initial Return) of all sample IPO companies were 7.5%. It shows that the new issues were initially under priced. In order to verify the returns statistically, the t-test was used. It was found that all sample IPO companies' returns were significantly not equal to zero. According to this study, the mean initial return of 7.5% was a lower average return when compared to previous research. The regression model was used to analyze the relationship between the degree of under pricing with the explanatory variables such as issue size, listing delay, age of the firm and market index return on the day of listing. The results of regression show that there was no significant relationship between the degree of under pricing and the explanatory variables except the variable of age of the firm. The study suggests that the investors can make their investment in new issues since the IPOs are under priced initially.

11 tables, 13 ref

021167   Rai M;Sharma M C (HRM & IB Dep, IIS University, Mansarovar, Jaipur-30 2017, Email: raimahima@gmail.com) : An empirical analysis of the stock price behavior on merer & acquisition announcement (With specific refernce to mergers involving ICICI Banke. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 38-52.

Indian baking system has been undergoing major changes in recent years. Different strategies have been adopted to tackle the demands of this new emerging operating environment. One such strategy has been consolidation via Mergers and Acquisitions (M & As). ICICI Bank has also been using M & A as a strategy to expand its geographical coverage, increasing customer base and for meeting regulatory requirements. It has been involved in four cases of M & As since the year 2000. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of these M & A announcements on the stock price behavior of the ICICI Bank. It makes use of event study methodology to analyze the stock price performance.

17 tables, 13 ref

021166   Pohoata I;Bostan I;Constantinescu R (NO, Alexandru Ioan Cuza Univ, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Iasi, Romania, Email: ionel_bostan@yahoo.com) : Rise towards excellence of social science in India: a 'nobel' confirmation of the value of economics and further implications. Curr Sci 2014, 106(3), 368-73.

In this article we aim to underline a well-recognized side of social science in India, which lately has witnessed a remarkable qualitative evolution, gaining world pre-eminence. We are referring to that component of social sciences called economics, whose exceptional value was recognized at the beginning of the third millennium with a well-deserved Nobel Prize. Of course, if we are to debate on such a theme, we shall have to take a close look at the work of the Indian economist, Amartya Sen, but we will also undertake an analysis of the Indian culture and economic thinking as a whole. We, as European researchers who study what is valuable around the world (according to our specialization), do notice that Indian culture and economic thinking, followed, to a certain extent, the trend of the 'old continent' (Europe), obviously including Marxism in its different facets. On the other hand, we notice that India never lacked 'great names' in the area of economic science, especially in the mathematical logic field. The schools of Delhi and Calcutta are some of the most important centres of development of economic thinking, not just for India but for the entire Asia, enjoying the recognition of researchers in the field from Western Europe and USA. Therefore, we considered a brief insight into the evolution of economic thinking in India as appropriate. Finally, we would like underline, as much as possible, the impact of the paradigm change generated by Amartya Sen and his research on freedom, poverty and social choices.

45 ref

021165   Manish Kumar (Commerce Dep, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College, University of Delhi, Delhi, Email: mk9006@gmail.com ) : Most profitable bank in India: a comparative analysis of Indian nationalized banks. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 24-37.

This paper attempts to analyze the profitability of nationalized banks in India. There are nineteen nationalized banks in India. All the banks are profitable. But the question is which bank is the most profitable nationalized bank in India. This paper has tried to find the answer to the above mentioned question on the basis of profitability analysis since the nationalized banks are the core part of total banking system in India. This study examined the profitability of nineteen nationalized banks operating in India. By applying key profitability ratios, it was found that the Punjab National Bank ranked first in the overall profitability analysis index whereas the United Bank of India and the Vijaya Bank were both positioned at 15^th rank.

1 illus, 7 tables, 52 ref

021164   Mahalingam G;Mariappan Raja (Commerce and Financial Studies, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, Email: mgayu86@gmail.com) : Fractal analysis and long range dependence in S & P CNX nifty returns. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 88-96.

Fractal Analysis is an instrument that studies the repeating patterns of price over long periods of time that are created by a common driver of price that can be isolated. In assessing the fractal dimension of index returns, the retail investors, with recent innovation in financial prediction and computational power, can make use of these price movements in the stock market. The long memory describes the higher order correlation structure of a time series. The S&P CNX Nifty is a well diversified, fifty stock index, accounting for twenty two sectors of the economy. It is used for benchmarking fund portfolios, index based derivatives and index funds. The aim of this paper is to investigate the existence of long range dependence and fractal structure in the S&P CNX Nifty returns, using Rescaled Range Analysis over the period of 20 years from April 1994 to March 2014. The study found no long range dependence in the stock market.

3 tables, 18 ref

021163   Kanakarajammal R;Paulraj S;Arulalan M V (NO, Dr. Dharmambal Government Polytechnic College for Women, Chennai, Email: kanaka39sice@rediffmail.com) : Study on co-movement relationship between India, China and US stock markets in the post reform era. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 64-76.

Indian Capital Market has undergone tremendous changes since 1991 when the Government adopted liberalization and globalization policies. With the establishment of SEBI and technological advancement, the Indian Stock Market has now reached the global standard. The major indicators of stock market development show that significant development has taken place in the Indian stock market during the post reform period. This paper endeavors to empirically investigate the co movement relationship between markets of US, China and India in the post reform era. The study found that Indian stock market was not co integrated with the China and US stock markets as yet and also found that Indian stock influenced the china stock market but China stock market did not influence the Indian stock market.

9 tables, 35 ref

021162   Balraj A A;Balakrishnan K;Angusamy A (NO, , SMK Telok Mas, Melaka, Malaysia, Email: annbalraj@yhoo.com) : Factors influencing consumers' behavioural intention on E-commerce adoption in Malaysia. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 1-11.

Growth of e-commerce has seen rapid changes and developed higher expectations among retailers and consumers. This is more evident in today's fast growing age of technology-oriented products which demand constant enhancement. The study is aimed at understanding the significant influence of perceived enjoyment, perceived satisfaction, perceived usefulness and perceived service quality factors on the consumers' behavioural intention on e-commerce adoption in Malaysia. This study confirms that consumers look at enjoyment, satisfaction, usefulness and service quality as having significant influence on their behavioural intention in the e-commerce industry.

4 tables, 11 ref

021161   Ahmed M A;Ahsan A;Majeed U (Management Sciences Dep, University of Gujrat, Pakistan, Email: ashfaq.ahmed@uog.edu.pk) : Effect of social networking based brand communities and brand love, on brand loyalty. SMART J Business Mgmt Stud 2014, 10(2), 12-23.

Social networking-based brand communities are developed to provide a platform for those who want to connect with the brand and brand-related information. The aim of this research is to check whether these social networking-based brand communities and brand love, have any effect on brand loyalty or not. This research was conducted using an online survey of Samsung Inc. face book community's members. The results of structure equation model show that brand communities, which are based on social networks, are positively attached with community makers, which means that they have positive effect (share ideas, take part in discussion, satisfied with the brand) and the brand love, based on social media, also has positive effect (passionate attachment with brand) and the both constructs ultimately contribute towards loyalty.

1 illus, 3 tables, 47 ref

020087   Tandon J K;Sood T (NO, Jaipur National Univ, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Email: tulika.moni79@gmail.com) : Empirical study of the relationship between customer-perceived value and customer satisfaction for LIC and HDFC life in Jaipur city. INROADS 2013, 2(2), 155-69.

Understanding the basis of customer value is perceived as an important source for competitive advantage and the foundation for long-term buyer-supplier relationships as researched by many authors. Creating customer value should be the cornerstone of every business. However, there is little evidence on what creates value in the insurance sector. It is essential to know what consumers value, and what do consumers really want from by buying an insurance policy. What attributes are most important in their judgements of value? What drives them to use one company's insurance policy over others? In order to understand what customers really want from life insurance companies and how much they can spend, the concept of perceived value is chosen, as it represents a consumer's overall assessment of the utility based on perceptions of what is received and what is given. In the relationships between customers and insurance companies, the concept of service takes on a different meaning as insurances are relatively distinct from traditional services. Certain service-specific characteristics, such as intangibility, heterogeneity, customer involvement and confidentiality, are inherent to insurances (Maas and Graf, 2008). A distinguishing peculiarity of an insurance service is that the customer regularly pays for a service which, if the customer is free of losses, may remain extremely intangible throughout the relationship (Gidhagen, 2001). The main motivation for a customer to purchase insurance is to protect himself against property/casualty losses and liability suits (Miller, 1992). The primary function of insurance companies is to compensate policyholders if a pre-specified adverse event occurs in exchange for premiums paid to the insurer by the policyholder (Saunders and Cornett, 2007).The outcomes of insurance purchases are also often delayed, and thus do not allow immediate post-purchase evaluation (Siddiqui and Sharma, 2010). Hence, this study seeks to analyse the factors of customer-perceived values that affect customer satisfaction in both LIC and HDFC Life.

1 illus, 14 tables, 35 ref